Why are sellers so adverse to answering texts?

NIMAN

I saw a car on Gumtree the other day and sent the guy a text asking one very simply question which would have taken him maybe 10secs to reply to.

After no reply I sent him the text again about 4hrs later, still no reply.

Now I know a lot of sellers put "no texts" on their adverts, but why? I mean if this guy is even a little interested in actually selling his car you'd think that a 10sec text to a potential buyer would be in his interest?

Melion

A 10 second text would be a 5 second phone call. Why didn't you ring him?

CiniO

Maybe he can't.
I know some older people how just can't write or read texts on their mobiles.

shooter88

I found 90% of texts are messers,
Seen your (..........) IL give ya (......) Less than 50%vof asking price

Celly Smunt

"no windo likers no txts nd prvite numbers wont b ansured."

Seriously though,it's more of a courtesy thing.Rather than having to answer 10 texts over 30 minutes,the questions could be answered over the phone in a few minutes.

Cash is king

shooter88 wrote: »

I found 90% of texts are messers,
Seen your (..........) IL give ya (......) Less than 50%vof asking price

Exactly and a lot of foreigners sending messages that you cannot understand.

r3nu4l

I detest texting anyone. Email is fine, talking is fine but I hate texting. I have however seen the string of texts that results from 'one text' being sent by a buyer.

Buyer: Hiya, duz de car have an armrest?

Seller: No armrest

Buyer: Duz it hav original sound system or a betr 1?

Seller: Original

Buyer: Ok, are de tires new?

Seller: No, about 8k km on them

Buyer: Are dey ok, do u hav hevy rite fut n break hard?

No way I would want to get drawn into that! If you are interested in buying, call. simple really.

HJL

And in the above example that is 3 texts at 13c each if someone doesnt have text bundles or free texts etc. Its no great fortune, but why waste money on time wasters. Its bad enough them ringing and messing you about without paying for it as well.

Toyotafanboi

i sold 3 out of my last 4 cars to texters if memory serves me right.

i personally am inclined to think that a texter is a messer, but some, clearly are genuine. that said, i still would rather if they had called.

Yamanoto

Some sellers may be on PAYG plans and as such, texting folks back may be relatively costly for them.

I've always thought if folks are serious about a car, they'd be keen to speak with the seller - as it gives you some initial impression of who it is you're dealing with.

Bebo stunnah

I could understand a text asking when would be the best time to call, but nothing more than that.

djimi

I dont think Id take someone terribly seriously if they cant be bothered to make a quick phone call.

Stoolbend

I have a stammer and absolutely hate making phone calls.

I'll always send a text or two first to make the initial contact.

There's lots of sellers that are timewasters too. Not just buyers.

CiniO

Maybe some people text because they can't speak English?
Or maybe they can't understand Irish accent?

But this would most likely apply to someone from abroad buying car for export.

Syllabus

i hate speaking to randomers on the blower. if im selling something and i get a call from a number i dont recognise i dont answer i wait for the text or voice mail then txt back saying 'cant speak atm.' The next 1-3 txts tell me everything i need to know and wether the person is worth speaking to.

bazz26

Why are some buyers so adverse to picking up the phone and just asking the seller questions?

When buying a car a 2 min telephone conversation can tell alot more about the seller than a 10 min game of silly text tennis. It's alot easier to lie via a text than it is when asked a question on the spot over the phone.

From my experience texters are the least likely to buy a car than someone who picks up the phone. When I sold my last car had one guy text and he asked me the same questions over and over. Instead of wasting my time going in circles with his text speak I just rang him and asked him if he wanted come to look at my car but he had absolutely no intention of coming to look at my car. That was the end of that.

Syllabus

CiniO wrote: »

Maybe some people text because they can't speak English?
Or maybe they can't understand Irish accent?

But this would most likely apply to someone from abroad buying car for export.

never mind foreigners - i had a call from a mulchie(Kerry I think) couldnt understand a word...

shawnee

Syllabus wrote: »

never mind foreigners - i had a call from a mulchie(Kerry I think) couldnt understand a word...

Know the feelin had a guy from around Dublin using slang words and I do wish he spoke in real English

Syllabus

shawnee wrote: »

Know the feelin had a guy from around Dublin using slang words and I do wish he spoke in real English

they only sound like slang words because you're not used to hearing someone speaking clearly without a sheep bleeting or an accordian or fiddle player in the background

Greenmachine

If I am selling a car and I get a text I ain't interested. If you are not bothered to make the phone call. You are not going to make a serious offer. Maybe there is some fool who will undervalue their car for less than it's worth but I ain't that guy. Call me and if you don't get through leave a voicemail. The only thing worthwhile that can be got from a text is if the seller still has the car after that, you need to speak to the seller and know what you want to ask them.

challengemaster

Yamanoto wrote: »

Some sellers may be on PAYG plans and as such, texting folks back may be relatively costly for them.

Usually the other way around tbh. pretty much every PAYG plan now has free texts to any network with a €20 top up. So what usually happens is people have credit for the first week, and then won't bother buying more until the free texts run out the following month.

Cash is king

Syllabus wrote: »

they only sound like slang words because you're not used to hearing someone speaking clearly without a sheep bleeting or an accordian or fiddle player in the background

Might be better than a typical dub snorting there fix of a toilet bowl.:D

sean1141

When I was selling my mondeo I had a equal ammount of texts and calls. Loads of time wasters on both. Ended up selling to a girl who text wiht a few questions first then called me.

I dont mind how someone contacts me, you will know after the first message or couple of seconds of a call if someone is genuine

Henry Ford III

CiniO wrote: »

Maybe some people text because they can't speak English?
Or maybe they can't understand Irish accent?

But this would most likely apply to someone from abroad buying car for export.

I'd be unlikely to sell any car to anyone that didn't speak English tbh.

CiniO

Henry Ford III wrote: »

I'd be unlikely to sell any car to anyone that didn't speak English tbh.

Any reasons?

Sam Kade

CiniO wrote: »

Maybe some people text because they can't speak English?
Or maybe they can't understand Irish accent?

But this would most likely apply to someone from abroad buying car for export.

They can't speak English but they can write in English.

Henry Ford III

CiniO wrote: »

Any reasons?

I couldn't understand them obviously.

CiniO

Sam Kade wrote: »

They can't speak English but they can write in English

With google translate anyone can write in English.

Also when I was coming to Ireland first time 9 years ago (I'm Polish originally) I though I can speak English (and write) after 14 years of English lessons in school.

However when I arrived in here, I had no clue what everybody was saying.
Most of my friends from Poland who speak English, have very serious problem understaning anything said with Irish accent (a video, tv programme, radio, film).
So in general I have many friends that could easily speak with British or American person, but would probably not understand at all person from Mayo

Henry Ford III

CiniO wrote: »

With google translate anyone can write in English.

Also when I was coming to Ireland first time 9 years ago (I'm Polish originally) I though I can speak English (and write) after 14 years of English lessons in school.

However when I arrived in here, I had no clue what everybody was saying.
Most of my friends from Poland who speak English, have very serious problem understaning anything said with Irish accent (a video, tv programme, radio, film).
So in general I have many friends that could easily speak with British or American person, but would probably not understand at all person from Mayo

Your friends are not alone

McGrath5

It's not just selling a car, it's anything.

I sold a laptop last week, had it up on donedeal for a few days. I was bombarded with text messages from people, "iz de lptp stil 4 sal?", "cn u cal me bak, ive no cred?" all that type of crap.
The first person who actually phoned me ended up buying it.

People who text are generally time wasters.

Yamanoto

challengemaster wrote: »

Usually the other way around tbh. pretty much every PAYG plan now has free texts to any network with a €20 top up.

Vodafone & O2 appear to make you choose between free calls & texts to others on the same network or free texts to any network.

wesf

as a friend of mine says, "if you haven't the price of a call, you haven't the price of the car".

tupac_healy

I've wondered about this call/txt thing myself when buying/selling....


There is an important thing that everyone needs to remember, some people just prefer to txt!!!!

For instance when I was buying a car last year, I find that if you are a txter (like me) it can be off-putting when someone says 'no txts'. Not the end of the world I know but it can be off putting.


Some people just prefer to txt!!!!!

blindside88

Syllabus wrote: »

i hate speaking to randomers on the blower. if im selling something and i get a call from a number i dont recognise i dont answer i wait for the text or voice mail then txt back saying 'cant speak atm.' The next 1-3 txts tell me everything i need to know and wether the person is worth speaking to.

Jesus I'd hate to try and buy anything off you so. What are the chances of the buyer being someone in your phone book? If your selling something you have to be willing to answer the phone, if I rang someone and left a voicemail and got a text back I'd assume they weren't interested in selling

For Forks Sake

CiniO wrote: »

So in general I have many friends that could easily speak with British or American person, but would probably not understand at all person from Mayo

I'm 33 and from Sligo, and I still can't understand a damn thing anyone from Mayo is saying.

goz83

If i'm buying a car, I usually call, because I want to know is the seller one of those people selling loads of cars, or if it's a genuine private sale.

If buying low value items, I usually text first to see if it's for sale. If it is, I ask all my questions in one text. If happy with the answers, I call and arrange the sale. Some sellers don't like call either, so it's a feckin minefield!!! Also, if ALL the info was in the advert, there would be a lot less stupid questions, by text, or otherwise. One guy recently advertised his car. The advert was: FTO for sale €800 ono. That opens up the field for soooo many questions.

This month alone, I bought a water cooler for my office and a PS3 on donedeal from separate sellers. Both items bought when contact was made by text.

Sam Kade

CiniO wrote: »

With google translate anyone can write in English.

Also when I was coming to Ireland first time 9 years ago (I'm Polish originally) I though I can speak English (and write) after 14 years of English lessons in school.

However when I arrived in here, I had no clue what everybody was saying.
Most of my friends from Poland who speak English, have very serious problem understaning anything said with Irish accent (a video, tv programme, radio, film).
So in general I have many friends that could easily speak with British or American person, but would probably not understand at all person from Mayo

Really, I know many Polish people and they can understand me and other Irish people without any problem. If you can understand the Leeds and Manchester accents over Irish accents more power to you because I can't understand a word they speak Anyone could understand American accents as they talk very loud and very slow

Suasdaguna1

I have sent two texts to done dealers this week re bikes with my email address looking for pics/details with my name where i reside etc to be snarled at ....they don't do texts. Twats IMO as I don't want to engage in small talk just want more info. These bikes are not cHeap and these sellers both gave me the bird.

Their loss.

Sam Kade

Suasdaguna1 wrote: »

I have sent two texts to done dealers this week re bikes with my email address looking for pics/details with my name where i reside etc to be snarled at ....they don't do texts. Twats IMO as I don't want to engage in small talk just want more info. These bikes are not cHeap and these sellers both gave me the bird.

Their loss.

So if you were interested in buying off them would you exchange hand written notes with them when you call to collect the bikes?

Suasdaguna1

Sam Kade wrote: »

So if you were interested in buying off them would you exchange hand written notes with them when you call to collect the bikes?

No Sam, my call whether I want to engage in small talk or not. You missed my point. People are dissing txts. I use a text msg with my email address to glean more info re photos etc. much easier than trying to spell it out. I then get the info I want......then I make the call if I want to go further. A totally acceptable way of conversing as against the shoite of small talk in conversations. I also glean info from the seller too re an email.

Don't shoot the messenger says me, there're s pros /cons to both sides of the argument.

djimi

Suasdaguna1 wrote: »

No Sam, my call whether I want to engage in small talk or not. You missed my point. People are dissing txts. I use a text msg with my email address to glean more info re photos etc. much easier than trying to spell it out. I then get the info I want......then I make the call if I want to go further. A totally acceptable way of conversing as against the shoite of small talk in conversations. I also glean info from the seller too re an email.

Don't shoot the messenger says me, there're s pros /cons to both sides of the argument.

Did it occur to you that maybe the seller didnt want to give their email address to some randomer who got their number from an ad? Especially if they didnt give out their email address initially.

st1979

Suasdaguna1 wrote: »

No Sam, my call whether I want to engage in small talk or not. You missed my point. People are dissing txts. I use a text msg with my email address to glean more info re photos etc. much easier than trying to spell it out. I then get the info I want......then I make the call if I want to go further. A totally acceptable way of conversing as against the shoite of small talk in conversations. I also glean info from the seller too re an email.

Don't shoot the messenger says me, there're s pros /cons to both sides of the argument.

Have you tried selling stuff on donedeal etc. Pretty soon you might get enough of texters and see that someone who is interested enough to make a phonecall is way more likely to be interested in buying. Before I tried to sell stuff I wondered why people put up 'no texts' when you are on the other side of the fence you will see that generally texters are messers and haven't got the money to pay for a phone call. So why would I bother spending my money on replying to someones texts. Renting houses is the same generally scummers text normal decent people ring.
If you were selling something and I rang you to arrange a viewing and someone else text to arrange a viewing which would you think would have a higher likely hood of turning up.

Cash is king

Cash is king wrote: »

Might be better than a typical dub snorting there fix of a toilet bowl.:D

Typical dub puts their fix in their arm :pac:

Mr Benevolent

I tend to text initially as I'm usually in work when I see the car online. Don't want my colleagues hearing about every car I'm interested in...

ShadowHearth

CiniO wrote: »

With google translate anyone can write in English.

Also when I was coming to Ireland first time 9 years ago (I'm Polish originally) I though I can speak English (and write) after 14 years of English lessons in school.

However when I arrived in here, I had no clue what everybody was saying.
Most of my friends from Poland who speak English, have very serious problem understaning anything said with Irish accent (a video, tv programme, radio, film).
So in general I have many friends that could easily speak with British or American person, but would probably not understand at all person from Mayo

Or Cork! Jaysus, took me a fecking while to understand Wtf those boyz were on about!

Confab

Confab wrote: »

I tend to text initially as I'm usually in work when I see the car online. Don't want my colleagues hearing about every car I'm interested in...

And you're not a timewaster ?

ShadowHearth

On topic:

I always call if I am interested in item. The whole idea of texting as a buyer for me is the waste of time. I like to know ASAP everything I need. No point texting some lialia and get text after 5 hours with answer "ah jaysus, lad, I sold it 3 months ago".
With a phone call you get all information you need. If it is good, then you arrange meeting. If bad, you don't waste your time and money and you can just move on.
The only time I use text is when I can't get to the seller. I will text them by saying " hello, I called you due to X item for sale. I could not reach you. Maybe you can call me back or tell me when I can call you".
Sometimes I ask seller to email me the pictures of the car. The newest as possible. I will do that request by a phone call too, not directly by email.

I really understand sellers not answering texts. If you can't afford a cost of phone call, then who said that you can afford an item it self.

To my biggest surprise O2 made a customer support via text! I did that as I was told to contact it that way due to some Internet issues I had. Holy shiet what aware of time it was. It was so annoying to wait for a reply. All the damn thing could have been sorted in 2 minutes over simple phone call.

dr.fuzzenstein

When I sell a car I make sure that ony serious buyers contact me.
That's why I stipulate that a buyer may only contact my dead Granny via seance and must meet me at a crossroads under a waxing moon when Saturn is in the sign of Virgo and any questions may only be put to me in Latin riddles. Payment will only be accepted as Spanish gold dubloons.

Maybe I did something wrong with my last ad where I put phone and email and asked people to get in touch any old way they feel like. Funny enough I sold the car in the end.
I still remember the "why don't dealers respond to emails" thread.
Car sellers are a contrary and cantankerous bunch it seems. i always managed to sell my cars without the attitude.

biko

I usually send a text for first contact. Not text speak but something like "Hi, saw your car on donedeal, is it still free for viewing? If so let me know and I'll come down this weekend".
Note this is for the seller's convenience, not mine.
If they are busy they can respond to the text at any time and I'll ring to confirm.

Also it's to weed out the sellers that sold the car 5 days ago abut are too lazy or stupid to edit the ad.
If you put "no texts" in ad and then complain when no-one gets in touch it could be because people like me just kept browsing.

CiniO

Sam Kade wrote: »

Really, I know many Polish people and they can understand me and other Irish people without any problem. If you can understand the Leeds and Manchester accents over Irish accents more power to you because I can't understand a word they speak Anyone could understand American accents as they talk very loud and very slow

Yes.
I know many Polish people who also can understand Irish accent without any problems, but those are Polish people who live or lived in Ireland at least for a while.

pcardin

biko wrote: »

Also it's to weed out the sellers that sold the car 5 days ago abut are too lazy or stupid to edit the ad.

or even worse - muppets that edit their ad to say SOLD,SOLD,SOLD,SOLD,SOLD,SOLD,SOLD,SOLD,SOLD,SOLD,SOLD,SOLD,SOLD,SOLD,SOLD,SOLD,SOLD,SOLD,SOLD,SOLD,SOLD,SOLD,SOLD,SOLD,SOLD,SOLD
Like they're freaking proud of what they have just achieved. :pac:

delete the freaking ad once car is sold!!